6teen the nightmare before christmas
by ike1992
Summary: jonesy has found one of his brother's maps but where it leads him and his friends isn't exactly what he and the gang expected
1. chapter 1 the door deep in the woods

Author's note: yes, it's me again! And having completed my latest story 6teen Oogie's revenge, I'm finally able to work on this story that I've been thinking about last week. Ever since I became interested in 6teen and the nightmare before Christmas, I've always thought about much the 6teen gang would freak if somehow they wound up in Halloween town. And that's pretty much how this story is born. Of course, all of the songs from the movie are going to be in this, and then some. Hopefully, people will like this story as much as Oogie's revenge and just to let readers know this takes place before Oogie's revenge.

And before I forget, I guess I have to mention that the nightmare before Christmas belongs to Tim Burton (here in America) and 6teen belongs to Jennifer pertsch and tom McGills (in Canada) so, without any further ado, happy reading ;) – ike1992

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October 31. Halloween night. The night when ghosts and goblins come out to play. The night when young children obtain massive amounts of candy by going door to door in costumes. To some kids, the greatest night of the year. And there are others who don't have the same idea…

In a small rich neighborhood called Richwood, a young high school student by the name of jonesy Garcia had just gotten home after serving his almost daily routine of detention and getting fired yet again from his job at the galleria mall. He remembered how the same thing had happened on last Halloween. But this Halloween was going to be different. Because jonesy had made the bold decision that he and his 6 best friends jimmy x Wyatt Williams Jude lizowski Nikki Wong Caitlin Cooke Jen masterson and his four other friends Joe Fred Sam and Samantha would not be trick-or-treating that year as the matter of fact they don't trick-or-treat at all.

Jonesy was completely disgusted by Halloween after what happened last year. He had fallen for another one of his older brother's stupid jokes (the so-called map to "scary Ville" ended up sending the gang in a big circle,) and the gang had been beaten up for something jimmy and Caitlin had done (could they help it that jimmy and Caitlin had beaten up all the others teens in the galleria mall because of their stupid Halloween hallucinations?" and even worse, jimmy and Caitlin got out of the whole thing without even a scratch! So unfair!

But jonesy, for once in his life, decided to learn from his mistake. He wasn't going to fall for another one of his brother's stupid pranks. Because he was staying home that Halloween night. But as soon as jonesy got home, he discovered something that he didn't counted on before: he had absolutely nothing to do. After about five minutes, he declared that he was officially bored.

So jonesy roamed around the house, looking for something-anything to do to occupy his time. Soon enough, his boredom led him to the attic. Jonesy always liked going up to the attic. Since his parents were pack rats, they had some of the most interesting stuff jonesy had ever seen. Unless you counted jonesy's Christmas presents, which consisted of clothes year after year. This was the reason why jonesy wasn't too fond of Christmas either.

But tonight, jonesy felt like doing something different. There was a corner of the attic that he hadn't fully explored before. He decided that if anything would be able to occupy his time, that would. So, he slowly made his way to the darker corner of the attic.

Jonesy began to sift through the old boxes. It was mostly the same old stuff: old clothes, old photos old tapes, nothing all that interesting. "Pfft. Figures," jonesy mumbled. He finally had a night to himself, and nothing exciting. Looking around his attic again, jonesy leaned back against the wall.

Suddenly, jonesy felt a board behind him shift slightly. He turned around. Was one of the boards loose? He began to mess with the boards, seeing if one would pop off. The last board he tried came off in his hands.

There was a secret compartment behind the board! How had jonesy missed that? He loved secrets. Especially if they were juicy secrets! He quickly peered inside the small compartment. But all that was in it was a rolled-up piece of paper. Of course, jonesy's curiosity was piqued, and he to look at the paper. He took it out and unrolled it then his eyes widened.

It was a map! And looked at like it led to some place from jonesy's house! And even better, the destination looked like a perfect spot for some healthy trick-or-treat fanatics. Jonesy was ecstatic. He was about to run down to the phone to call the others…but then he stopped. He looked at the map again. Considering where he had found it, the map was probably his brother's and considering what had happened the last few times he had followed one of his brother's maps, it probably led to trouble. But there was something different about this map. It actually looked authentic. There was no way his brother could draw it by hand. He just couldn't pass up this opportunity.

Jonesy ran down to the phone. He quickly dialed Sam's number and put the others through by conference call.

"Hello?" a polite voice answered first.

"My name is jimmy!" a second voice said.

"Guys, get your guns and meet me at my house!" said jonesy. "I got something here that will rock your socks!"

"Excuse me?" asked Sam. "Jonesy, I thought we went over this. You said you didn't want to trick-or-treat because of what happened last year, remember?"

"Well, yeah, but that was before I found this map!" said jonesy. "And I'm confident that it will lead us right to…"

"Another one of your brother's maps?" asked Sam. "Jonesy, have you learned nothing?"

"Look, will you guys just get your guns and get over here?" asked jonesy. "I'll see you later!"

"Trick-or-treat for me!" exclaimed jimmy.

After jonesy hung up, he ran to his room. He needed his weapons, and fast. He hadn't prepared his pistol his A.K. 47 rifle and his Uzi for this year because of his original plans, but now he had a good reason to have one. He finally settled wearing a belt for his pistol from last year.

The others were right on time. As soon as jonesy got his guns ready, the doorbell rang. Jonesy ran to answer it. Apparently, the others hadn't prepared anything for that year either. Jimmy had the same guns as jonesy Caitlin had a uzi and a pistol Nikki had a m16 a pistol and a Uzi Jen had a Uzi and a pistol Wyatt had a m4 a tec9 and a pistol Jude had a Uzi a m16 and a tec9 Sam had a m16 a mp and a pistol Joe had a A.K. 47 rifle a Uzi and a pistol Samantha had a Uzi and a pistol, all from last year.

"What took you so long?" asked jonesy.

"Can we just see the map?" asked Sam.

"See for yourself," said jonesy, handing Sam the map.

Sam carefully examined the map. "Hmm…well jonesy, now that I look at it, you're actually right. This map is different from your brother's past creations. I don't think he could have drawn all this."

"Told ya," said jonesy. "This map must lead to the real scary ville! I just knew he was holding out on me!"

"Scary ville, guys!" yelled jimmy.

"Well, hopefully things will be better than they were last year," said Sam. "Right, jimmy Caitlin?" this year, Sam had made cut back on their monster movies because of jimmy and Caitlin's behavior last year.

"We have been good Sam," said jimmy.

"Good," said Sam. "Then let's begin, shall we?"

---

So the gang began to follow the map into the night. With sam leading (mostly because he was the only one who could read the map), they weren't paying much attention to exactly where they were going. Sam was focused on keeping his coordinates straight.

When Sam finally looked up to see where they were, he realized that the map had led the gang deep into the woods behind apple creek school. "Oh my," he said. "I don't think I've ever been this deep into the woods before. I wonder where exactly we're going?"

"Ah, who cares?" asked jonesy.

And so they walked on. Before Sam knew it, they were at the endpoint on the map. He looked up and saw just what the gang had been led to. Then, he made an abrupt stop. This caused jimmy and Caitlin to crash into Sam, and the others to crash into jimmy Caitlin and Sam, and knocking the map out of Sam's hands in the process.

"What'd you do that for, Sam?" asked jonesy. Then he too saw what was in front of them.

It was a tree. But it didn't look like any of the other trees in the forest. This tree definitely stood out. The reason it stood out was because there was a big, orange, grinning jack o' lantern carved into it!

"What the hell?" asked jonesy.

"Well, it certainly seems that someone had a lot of time on their hands," said sam. Then he took a closer look at the jack o' lantern. "Hmm…hey, I don't think this is just a carving, guys. I think it's a door!"

"A door in a tree?" asked jonesy.

"It will open up and lead us down straight into the depths of hades!" said jimmy. "Can me and Caitlin go first?"

"Hang onto your necks, monobrows," said jonesy. "Why would my brother have a map that would lead to this tree?"

"Well, it must have some importance to your brother," said Sam. "I'll look at the map again…" then Sam saw the map lying face down on the ground. "Hello?"

"What now?' asked jonesy.

"Jonesy, there's something written on the back of this map," said Sam, picking the map up. "I think it's…a poem."

"What?" asked jonesy. "I don't think my brother was a whiz at poetry. What's it say?"

"Here, I'll read it aloud," said Sam. He cleared his throat.

"Twas a long time ago, longer now than it seems

In a place that perhaps you've seen in your dreams.

For the story that you are about to be told

Takes place in the holiday worlds of old.

Now, you've probably wondered where holidays come from.

If you haven't I'd say it's time you've begun."

Jonesy stared at the poem on the back of the map. "What the hell does that mean?" he asked.

"I have no idea," said Sam.

Just then, the gang heard a loud cracking noise behind them. They turned around. The jack o' lantern door was wide open.

"Uh…who did that?" asked jonesy.

"Jimmy Caitlin?" asked Jen.

"It wasn't us Jen!" said jimmy. "We've been good!"

Then, something strange happened. Nearby leaves that were on the ground began to flutter about in the breeze.

"Hey, what's going on?" asked jonesy.

"That's strange…" said Sam. "The weather report said there wouldn't be any wind tonight…"

"The door is sucking us in!" yelled jimmy. "It wants to eat us!"

"What?" jonesy asked.

And sure enough, jimmy seemed to be right. The wind was coming from inside the door. And it was pulling the gang in! the gang tried to fight the growing current, but then it suddenly became so strong that it lifted the eleven terrified teenagers up into the air! One by one, the gang was sucked into the door. And as soon as the gang were sucked in, the jack o' lantern door shut behind them. The only sound that could be heard was screams of the gangs, growing fainter and fainter as they fell deeper and deeper…

Then…nothing. Silence. The wind had died down. All the leaves fluttered back onto the ground. And all that remained was the grinning jack o' lantern door.


	2. Chapter 2 this is halloween

Author's note: "this is Halloween" belongs to its respective owner Tim Burton well enjoy

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Faraway, in a dark forest, there was a single tree that stood out. This tree stood out because carved into the trunk was a door shaped like a pink house.

Usually in this part of the forest, it was completely silent. But at the moment, it was anything but. The screams of the eleven terrified teenagers filled the air. All of a sudden, the door shaped like a pink house swung open, and a mighty wind shot out.

Sam was shot out of the door first. He landed on the ground with a THUD. But before he could get up, jonesy was shot out of the door and landed on Sam. Sam grunted as jonesy fell on him, then grunted a second time as the others, landed on both of them.

"Sandwich!" said jimmy as he landed on his friends.

The gang let out a moan. What had just happened?

"Everyone okay?" jonesy asked after he finally found his voice.

"Yeah!" said jimmy. "Oh, and Sam's fine because he broke the fall with his face. See?"

"Yes, well, now that we have that settled…CAN WE PLEASE MOVE OURSELVES TO A MORE POSITION?" asked Sam.

"All right, all right," said jonesy, pushing jimmy off. "Don't have a bird, Sam sheesh…"

After the gang got their bodies untangled, they were able to stand up and get a good look at their surroundings. But all they saw was a very dark forest with a lot of bare, mangled-looking trees. And that made for a very creepy-feeling atmosphere.

"Uh…where are we?" asked jonesy.

"Oh dear," said Sam. "I fear something may have happened when that jack o' lantern door was opened. I've never seen this place before!"

"Ooh, I know what happened!" said jimmy.

"No wait, let me guess, jimmy," said Nikki. "There was a wormhole contained inside the door and it transported us to another universe. Am I right?"

"Not even close, Nikki!" said jimmy. "There was a wormhole contained inside the door and it transported us to another universe!"

Nikki just stood there, speechless at her friend. "Jimmy, how do you even find your way out of bed in the morning?" she asked her friend.

"Oh dear…" said Sam. The others looked at their friend. Sam had a shocked look on his face.

"What's with you?" asked jonesy.

"Jonesy…look," said Sam. He handed jonesy the map.

"Yeah, it's a map of Richwood," said Sam. "So…" before he could finish his sentence, he realized why Sam was so shocked.

The entire map had changed! It no longer showed any sign of Richwood! All it showed was a trail leading from a tree in a forest to another town, which unfortunately was unnamed on the map.

"I…I don't understand!" said Sam. "What on earth happened?"

"Well, let's see…" said jonesy. "We were walking through the forest, and the map led us right to that tree…" it was then that jonesy saw the new tree. The one with the pink house door on it. "What the hell?"

"Why, this looks like one of the houses from back home," said Sam. "This is very strange…why on earth would a door that looks like this be here?"

"And where is "here" anyway?" added jonesy.

"Follow the map we must to our destination we will figure out!" said jimmy.

The others stared at their friend. Then Sam spoke.

"Well, apart from jimmy's once again deplorable sentence structure, I'm in agreement with him. It seems that the only way we'll find out what's going on is if we follow the map," he said.

"So, if we follow this trail, it'll lead us to scary ville, right?" asked jonesy.

"Well, that should be general plan," said Sam.

That's when jonesy got excited. "Well then, what are we waiting for?" he asked. "Lead they way, Sam!"

"All right, all right," said Sam. "Please be patient, jonesy."

---

And so the gang followed the new path on the newly revised map. They soon found their way out of the creepy woods. But things didn't seem to feel any better, appearance-wise. To Sam's horror, the map led right through a graveyard. So the gang had to make their way through a vast area of tombstones.

As they moved on, they went through a pumpkin patch. And every pumpkin had a jack o' lantern face carved into it. But the thing that intrigued the gang most of all was the giant hill in the center of the past. The end of it curled in to form a spiral.

"I wonder what's it's called?" asked Sam.

"Ah, for all we know, it's called 'spiral hill'," said jonesy. "Come on! Keep going!"

"He's so stubborn…" Sam thought as he kept his eyes on the map.

Pretty soon, the map led the gang straight to…an open gate. And on the other side, there appeared to be huge town. But there was something eerily intimidating about the town. It looked…well, it looked downright macabre!

"It's scary Ville!" yelled jonesy.

"Jonesy, please wait!" said Sam. I have a bad feeling about this place. Doesn't something feel…not quite right?"

"Oh, what else is new?" asked jonesy.

"But…jonesy…" said Sam.

"Will you relax for once in your life?" asked jonesy. "We'll just stick around for a while and then we'll head back home. I promise!"

"But jonesy, we don't even know where we are!" protested Sam.

"Sure we do!" said jonesy. "We're in scary Ville! Let's go!" and with that, he ran straight into the town.

"Oh dear…" said Sam.

"It's totally worth it guys! Said jimmy, grabbing his friends and half-dragging them into town.

The gang quickly caught up with jonesy, and all eleven teenagers slowed to a walk. As they walked through the town, with jonesy wondering what house they should hit first, Sam noticed some other people walking down the streets. What amazed him, however, was that all their costumes looked so real…

"Um…jonesy…?" Sam asked nervously.

"What is it Sam?" asked jonesy.

"Don't you notice something strange about the costumes these other people are wearing?" asked Sam.

"What other people?" asked jonesy.

Sam was shocked. "Are you that oblivious to things happening around you, man?" he almost shouted. Luckily, he realized what he was doing and quickly quieted down, so not make a scene. "Just look at the costumes these other people have on. Don't they seem awfully…realistic?"

"So, these people know how to celebrate Halloween right," said jonesy. "Relax, Sam. Just kick back and enjoy the scenery."

"Something tells me that's not going to be easy…" said Sam, looking around the dark, creepy-looking town.

"This place reminds me of the town from "I was a teenage blood-sucking leech boy," the miniseries," said jimmy.

"Uh…thank you for sharing that, jimmy," said Sam. In his most polite voice.

As the gang walked deeper into the town, they noticed that all the townspeople were gathering in the center. Soon, they stopped right in front of a fountain pouring out green water ("so unsanitary…" said Sam). And before the gang knew what was happening, the town was filled with…singing! All the gang could do was listen to the song the townspeople were singing. And even Sam to admit, it had a pretty catchy tune.

Shadow:** boys and girls of every age**

**Wouldn't you like to see something strange?**

Siamese shadow:** come with us and you will see**

**This, our town of Halloween**

Pumpkin patch chorus:** this is Halloween, this is Halloween **

**Pumpkins scream in the dead of night**

Ghosts:** this is Halloween, everybody make a scene**

**Trick or treat till the neighbor's gonna die of fright**

**It's our town, everybody scream**

**In this town of Halloween**

Creature under bed:** I am the one hiding under your bed**

**Teeth ground sharp and eyes glowing red**

Man under stairs:** I am the one hiding under your stairs**

**Fingers like snakes and spiders in my hair**

Corpse: chorus:** this is Halloween, this is Halloween**

Vampires:** Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween!**

**In this town we call home**

**Everyone hail to the pumpkin song**

---

"Man, is this town great or what?" asked jonesy.

"This is cool!" said jimmy.

But as Sam was listening to the song, an almost sickening realization had dawned over them. "Jonesy, I think I just figured out why these costumes look so real!" he said to his friend.

"Why?" asked jonesy. But before Sam could respond, they were interrupted.

---

Mayor:** in this town, don't we love it now?**

**Everybody's waiting for the next surprise**

Corpse chorus: **'round that corner, man, hiding in the trash can**

**Something's waiting now to pounce, and how you'll --**

Harlequin demon:** scream!**

Werewolf:** this is Halloween**

Harlequin demon:** red and black**

Melting man:** and slimy green**

Werewolf:** aren't you scared?**

Witches:** well, that's just fine**

**Say it once, say it twice**

**Take a chance and roll the dice**

**Ride with the moon in the dead of night**

Hanging tree:** everybody scream, everybody scream**

Hanged men:** in out town of Halloween**

Clown: **I am the clown with the tear-away face**

**Here in a flash and gone without a trace**

Second ghoul: **I am the "who" when you call "who's there?"**

**I am the wind blowing through your hair**

Oogie boogie shadow:** I am the shadow on the moon at night**

**Filling your dreams to the brim with fright**

Corpse chorus:** this is Halloween, this is Halloween**

**Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween!**

**Halloween! Halloween!**

---

"So, what are you saying, Sam?" asked jonesy.

Sam sighed. "I was saying that the reason these costumes look so real is because they are real!" he said, almost on the brink of hysteria.

Jimmy's eyes widened. Then a big grin appeared on his face. "I want to touch the monsters!" he exclaimed.

"Don't even think about it, mister!" said Jen.

---

Child corpse trio:** tender lumpings everywhere**

**Life's no fun without a good scare**

Parent corpses:** that's our job, but we're not mean**

In our town of Halloween 

Corpse chorus:** in this town**

Mayor:** don't we love it now?**

Mayor with corpse chorus:** everyone's waiting for the next surprise**

Corpse chorus:** skeleton jack might catch you in the back**

**And scream like a banshee**

**Make you jump out of your skin**

**This is Halloween, everybody scream**

**Won't ya please make way for a very special guy**

**Our man jack is the king of the pumpkin patch**

**Everyone hail to the pumpkin king now**

Everyone:** this is Halloween, this is Halloween**

**Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween!**

Corpse child trio:** in this town we call home**

**Everyone one hail to the pumpkin song**

Everyone:** la la-la la, Halloween! Halloween!**

**La la-la, Halloween! Halloween…**

As the song began to die down, everyone started laughing. And surprisingly, jonesy and jimmy were laughing along with them! But of course, Sam wasn't finding the situation funny at all.

"Why on earth are you two laughing?" Sam asked his friends.

"Cause this place is so cool!" said jimmy.

"Yeah Sam," said jonesy. "Besides, you heard what they said in the song. They scare people, but they aren't gonna hurt us."

"Well, yes…" said Sam. That was actually a good point. "But even so, I didn't like that last part. 'Skeleton jack might catch you in the back and scream like a banshee'? Doesn't that concern either of you?

"Aw, come Sam!" said jimmy. "Banshee screams are the best kind!"

"Only one man's opinion…" said Sam.

"Hey, what's that?" asked jonesy, pointing.

The others looked to where jonesy was pointing. And they weren't the only ones. It seemed all the townspeople had stopped to look.

A large, bald fellow with pale skin and an axe through his head was pulling something through the gate. It was a scarecrow with a jack o' lantern head riding a horse made of straw. The scarecrow was holding a blazing torch.

"What the hell is that thing?" asked jonesy.

"Well, whatever it is, it's captivated every person here," said Sam.

"Duuuuuuuuuude…" said Jude.

"Shush!" said jimmy. He and Caitlin wanted to see this.

Suddenly, the scarecrow moved! It took the torch and shoved it straight into his mouth! Then the scarecrow's whole body went ablaze (Sam guessed this was because the straw was so dry). Then the blazing scarecrow did another dramatic feat: it jumped high into the air, off the straw horse.

Sam had to admit, this scarecrow's act was a bit impressive. Then he suddenly began to panic. The scarecrow was diving to right where he, and the others were standing, and he was still on fire! Sam immediately put his arms in front of his face and waited for the blistering inferno he was sure to suffer.

But nothing happened.

Sam quickly opened his eyes and was just able to catch a glimpse of the flaming scarecrow disappearing into the fountain.

"Aw, where'd he go?" asked jimmy. "COME BACK, SCARECROW GUY!" he said, as he and Caitlin bended over the fountain.

"Jimmy Caitlin!" jonesy and Sam said at the same time, pulling their friends back. And it was a good thing they did.

Just as jonesy and Sam pulled jimmy and Caitlin back, something rose up from the fountain. The eleven teenagers watched in fascination as a skeleton with the longest legs Sam had ever seen, the biggest grin jonesy had ever seen, and the creepiest aura jimmy had ever felt rose from the bright green water. He had a black suit with pinstripes on, and a bow tie in the shape of a bat.

All the townspeople cheered. And of course, jimmy and Caitlin cheered right along with them. "WAY TO GO, SKELETON GUY!" jimmy exclaimed. Then he stopped. "Um…he looks familiar…" he said.

Jonesy also clapped, but Sam was too close to the action for his liking. "Uh…I can't see a thing up here," he said, creating an excuse for him to move back. "Excuse me." Then he eagerly pushed through the crowd all the way to the back. As soon as he had some elbow room, he breathed a sigh of relief. "Much better," he said.

Sam was about to turn his attention back to in front of him, but someone to the left of him caught his eye. It was a woman. Well…sort of. She looked more like a life-sized rag doll. She had long red hair and stitches all over her pale skinned body. Even her dress looked like it was poorly sewn together. She was partially hiding behind a tree with a face on it. However, Sam decided to shake this idea off and turned his attention back to in front of him.

Sam could still see the others. Everyone's attention was directed toward the skeleton. And everyone seemed to be talking at once.

"We did it!"

"Wasn't it terrifying?"

"What a night!"

A short man with a cone-shaped head and a very long top hat walked up to the skeleton. He was wearing a badge that said "mayor." So that was what Sam guessed he was. "Great Halloween, everybody," he said to the crowd.

"I believe it was our most horrible yet," said the skeleton

"No thanks to you, jack," said the mayor. "Without your brilliant leadership…"

"Not at all," said the skeleton, jack.

Then everyone began to talk at once again.

"You're such a scream, jack!"

"You're a witch's fondest dream!"

"You made walls fall, jack."

"Walls fall? You made the very mountains crack, jack!"

But in the midst of all the commotion, a sound that once again came to the left of Sam met his ears. He turned to the left and had to stifle a gasp.

A small, bald man wearing a lab coat and in an electric wheelchair was yanking on the rag doll woman's arm.

"The deadly nightshade you slipped me wore off, sally," said the man.

"Let go!" Said the rag doll woman, sally.

"You're not ready for so much excitement!"

"Yes I am! Stop this!"

"You're coming with me!"

"No, I'm not!" said sally. She suddenly reached up and pulled something from her right arm, the one the man was holding. Sam thought it looked like a thread. He stifled another gasp as sally's right arm popped off in the man's hand. The man was sent toppling out of his wheelchair, still holding the stray arm as sally ran off.

"Come back here, you foolish oaf!" he called after her, just as the stray arm he was holding started to bonk him on his bald head.

Sam did his best not to laugh out loud at the sight in front of him. But still, one small laugh escaped his lips.

And unfortunately, the man heard it. He shot sam a death glare as he tried to get up. Actually, Sam couldn't tell if it was death glare because of the glasses the man was wearing, but still freaked him out.

"Oh look my shoe's untied…over there," Sam quickly said. Then he ran off. But he stopped when somebody grabbed his arm.

"Sam, come on!" hearing jonesy's voice caused a wave of relief to wash over Sam. "we gotta hurry or we'll lose him!"

"Lose who, jonesy?" asked Sam.

"Jack!" said jonesy. "We gotta hurry or we'll lose jack!" then he ran away from the crowd. The others followed him, but there was something different about jimmy. He looked deep in thought

Sam quickly ran after his friends. It wasn't a long run, but he was still panting heavily when he finally caught up.

"Shhh!" jonesy shushed him. "Do you want them to hear us?"

"Jonesy, may I ask why are we following this "jack" character?" asked Sam.

"I heard people in that town say that jack was a king!" said jonesy. "And when there's a king, there's money!"

Sam caught a glimpse of dollar signs in his friend's eyes. "Jonesy, don't tell me you're planning to steal from jack!"

Jonesy looked at his friend. "Okay, I won't," he said. Then the gang peered around the wall they were against.

Jack was walking past a musical trio, which consisted of a bass player, an accordion player, and a saxophone player. But there was something different about jack. He didn't look so happy anymore. He sulked as he walked.

"Nice work, bone daddy," said the saxophone player.

"Yeah, I guess so," said jack, forcing a smile. But it immediately disappered. "Just like last year, and the year before that, and the year before that…"

"Huh?" asked jonesy as he watched jack walked away. "What's his problem? Did he not see all those people cheering for him?"

"Maybe he's tired," suggested Jen.

"Yeah, a skeleton tired?" asked jonesy. "Get with the program, Jen."

"I think I just think," said jimmy, speaking for the first time.

"Again with the questionable English, jimmy?" asked Sam.

Jimmy reached into his pocket and pulled out a comic book. He held it up for his friends to see. The gang's eyes widened. There, on the cover of jimmy's comic book, was a picture of jack. The title above the picture read "The pumpkin king."

"Geez jimmy, you've got a comic book for everything, don't you?" asked Nikki.

"The pumpkin king?" asked Wyatt. "What's that mean?"

"It means that skeleton man is none other than jack skellington, the pumpkin king!" said jimmy. "He's the ruler of Halloween! The master of terror! The king of nightmares!"

"You mean he's not a real king?" asked jonesy, the disappointment obvious in his voice.

"Is that all you ever think about, jonesy?" asked Sam. "Money You do know that jimmy is rich don't you?"

"Nope and yeah I knew that jimmy was rich," said jonesy. "I think about candy, too. And so far, I'm not seeing any in this in this scary Ville. What do you think, jimmy Caitlin?"

But when the gang looked, jimmy and Caitlin weren't there.

"Wait for us, pumpkin king!" the gang heard jimmy's voice further down the sidewalk with Caitlin following him. "You must sign my comic book!"

"JIMMY CAITLIN!" the gang yelled altogether. They quickly ran after their overexcited friends.

But there was one thing that none of the eleven teenagers knew. What they didn't know was that this was the start of a great adventure. For all eleven of them.


	3. Chapter 3 jack's lament

The gang were able to catch up to jimmy and Caitlin before they could make a spectacle of themselves. Then jonesy quickly explained to jimmy and Caitlin that they had to be sneaky and quiet so jack wouldn't see them. Thankfully, the message actually got to jimmy and Caitlin's tiny brains that night, and they said they understood.

So the eleven teenagers followed the tall, forlorn-looking skeleton at a safe distance. Before they knew it, they found themselves in the graveyard by the pumpkin patch again. They quickly ducked behind a tombstone and peered around it, hoping like hell jack didn't see them.

They watched as jack stopped near a small grave that looked like a doghouse. The name on the doghouse grave read "Zero." Jack patted his lap two times. A small ghost dog with a bright orange nose popped out of the grave and began to follow jack as he continued to walk.

Jack walked into the pumpkin patch and to the top of spiral hill. All the gang could see of him now was a tall, dark silhouette against the bright yellow moon. Then, all of the sudden, they heard the sound of the pumpkin king explaining his frustrations in song.

Jack:** there are few who'd deny, at what I do I am the best**

**For my talents are renowned far and wide**

**When it comes to surprises in the moonlit night**

**I excel without ever even trying**

**With the slightest little effort of my ghostlike charms**

**I have seen grown men give out a shriek**

**With the wave of my hand, and a well-placed moan**

**I have swept the very bravest off their feet**

**Yet, year after year, it's the same routine**

**And I grow so weary of the sound of screams**

**And I, jack, the pumpkin king**

**Have grown so tired of the same old thing**

**Oh, somewhere deep inside of these bones**

**An Emptiness began to grow **

**There's something out there, far from my home**

A longing that I've never known.

---

jonesy ducked down behind the grave. "Man, what's with this guy?" he asked the others. "He's practically worshiped and he's miserable?"

"Well jonesy, some of the most famous and successful people in the world are also the most miserable," said Sam. "It's a proven fact."

"And you know what else they say," said jimmy. "All work and no play makes jack a dull boy."

But instead of laughing, the others frowned at the irony of jimmy's saying. "So jimmy," said jonesy. "Tell us more about this guy."

"Can do, jonesy," said jimmy. He opened his comic book about jack skellington. Then he began to read.

---

Jimmy:** he's a master of fright, and a demon of light**

**And he'll scare you right out of your pants**

**To a guy in vice city, he's mister unlucky**

**And he's known throughout san andreas and liberty city**

And since he is dead, he can take off his head 

**To recite Shakespearean quotations**

**No animal nor man can scream like he can**

**With the fury of his, uh, his…**

Jimmy paused quickly and flipped through the pages.

Jimmy: …**recitations. **Am I a good reader or what?

"Shhhhhh!" jonesy hissed furiously. He pointed at jack. The eleven teenagers cautiously peered over the tombstone again.

---

Jack:** but who here would ever understand**

**That the pumpkin king with the skeleton grin**

**Would tire of his crown, if they only understood**

**Does nothing for these empty tears.**

---

Then the gang watched as the spiral hill uncurled into a path toward the same woods the gang had come from. Jack and the little ghost dog (Sam guessed that his name was Zero) walked down the path and disappeared into the woods.

It wasn't until about thirty seconds later that the gang came out of their hiding place. But as Sam got up, he saw something out of the corner of his eye. But when he turned back, no one was there. He could have sworn that he saw sally leaving the graveyard…

"I can't believe this guy!" jonesy said in frustration, snapping Sam back to attention. "He wants to give up his fame? How stupid can you get?"

"Actually jonesy, that's what most successful people wish for," said Sam. "It's not really worth it to have what you want but not be happy about it. Another proven fact."

"Yeah, well, I know one successful guy that's not gonna end up like that," said jonesy.

"And who might that be?" asked Sam.

"Me, of course!" said jonesy.

Sam laughed at this. "You're joking, right?" he asked.

"No!" said jonesy. "Okay, so I'm not the most successful person now, but just you wait! My day's gonna come soon! And I'm gonna savor every moment of it!"

"And I suppose once you obtain that power, you're not going to need me and the others anymore," said Sam.

"What are you, nuts?" asked jonesy. "I can't do a thing without your brain and the others help and jimmy and Caitlin's empty-headedness!"

Sam was surprised by this statement. "You really mean that, jonesy?"

"Sure!" said jonesy. "And since I'm obviously the brains of this operation, I say we go into those woods and keep following jack. Then once we figure out a little more about this scary Ville, we can go home. I promise. 'Cause we're the brave and the determined gang."

"Determined, maybe," said Sam. "But I'm not so sure about the "brave" part."

Then the gang watched as jonesy began to walk over to spiral hill, soon, the others were walking along with jonesy. And they got to spiral hill.

---

The gang were now at the entrance of the woods.

"Read to me what is on the sign, Sam," said jimmy.

Sure enough, there was a sign next to the entrance. The letters were faded, so Sam had to squint to make them out.

"Welcome to the hinterlands," he read. "You can go in…but you can never come out." He gulped after he read the last part.

"Aw, they're just trying to scare us again," said jonesy. "We've been through these woods before. We can take it, remember?"

Sam chuckled. "All right," he said. "But just remember, we don't want to make too much noise. We have to keep a low profile, look out for anything dangerous…"

But when Sam looked up, he saw that the others were already making their way into the woods.

"…And now, we need to stop talking to ourselves," Sam said as he quickly followed his friends into the woods.


	4. chapter 4 what's this?

And so the eleven teenagers walked through the dark and creepy woods known as the hinterlands. Of course, jonesy led, with the others behind him. However, after walking for a while, the gang began to notice that something wasn't right. There was no sign of jack anywhere, yet they clearly saw him entering these woods. But now it seemed that they were the only living things in the woods at the moment.

Suddenly and very abruptly, jonesy stopped dead in his tracks at a certain tree. Since it was unexpected, the others ran into him.

"Jonesy, what…" Sam was about to say, but jonesy quickly covered his friend's mouth. Sam noticed something different about jonesy's expression. He looked like he had seen a ghost. Or maybe…

That's when Sam saw what had freaked jonesy out, and he and the others became alarmed. There, sitting right in front of the eleven teenagers, asleep with his back against the tree, was jack skellington. Zero was asleep at his side.

Unfortunately, jimmy and Caitlin saw jack, too. "PUMPKIN KING MUST SIGN COMIC BOOK!" jimmy yelled loudly. Caitlin sprouted her cat ears and her fluffy cat tail and her cat paws came on her feet and hands she clapped happily and giggled and began to run with jimmy.

"Jimmy Caitlin!" the gang furiously whispered, the boys jumped on jimmy and the girls jumped on Caitlin. But as the boys were putting their hands over jimmy's mouth and as the girls were putting their hands over Caitlin's mouth, they heard jack stir. Jonesy's face went pale and Sam couldn't stop trembling. But the gang immediately relaxed when jack just shifted his body to a more comfortable position. Miraculously, jimmy and Caitlin's outburst had not woken him up.

"Shut up, stupids!" jonesy hissed at his two friends. "Are you trying to blow our cover?"

"But jonesy…" jimmy was able to make out, though it was still very muffled.

"Ssssh!" said jonesy.

"We gotta get out of here!" whispered Sam.

"Right," said jonesy. "Follow me."

The eleven teenagers very carefully tiptoed past the sleeping skeleton. They all breathed a sigh of relief when they were all safely past him.

"I don't even want to think about what would have happened if he had woken up…" said Sam.

"Yeah," said jonesy. "How are you two holding out, jimmy Caitlin?"

But once again, jimmy and Caitlin weren't there.

"Jimmy Caitlin?" jonesy asked, the panic rising in his voice again. He looked over at jack, but jimmy and Caitlin were no where near there.

"Hey guys, come over here!" to the others relief, jimmy's voice came from the opposite direction of jack.

"Now what are you two doing, monobrow?" jonesy asked as he and the others walked over to their empty-headed friends, who were about ten feet away from jack.

"Look," said jimmy, pointing in front of them.

The others gasped. They were met with quite a sight. In front of them were more trees, and each of them had a door carved into them. There was an Easter egg door, a shamrock door, a heart door, a firecracker door, a turkey door, and a jack o' lantern door (identical to the one back at apple creek school). But the last door was the most amazing sight of all. The last door looked exactly like a large Christmas tree. It even had ornaments and a star on top.

For some reason, the gang were most intrigued by this particular door. It was probably because Christmas was their favorite holiday. However, the gang liked Christmas for different reasons: jimmy and Caitlin liked Christmas because of Santa, Sam and Jen liked Christmas mainly because of the great feelings it gave them, and of course, jonesy liked Christmas because the presents (well, the good presents anyway).

Jonesy looked at his ten comrades. Then he slowly walked up and turned the knob on the Christmas tree door. When they looked inside, the eleven teenagers saw the exact same thing they had seen in the jack o' lantern door: a whole lot of dark.

"Where do you think it leads?" asked jonesy.

"I'm not sure," said Sam. "I feel that we shouldn't take any chances, considering the consequences we may…"

"WHOOHOO!"

The gang quickly turned around, just in time to see jimmy and Caitlin jumping into the tree. Jonesy was standing on the side, getting ready to jump in.

"YAHOO!" yelled jonesy as he and the others disappeared into the tree.

Jen was about to yell, but the she remembered that jack was still asleep a few feet away. She bent over the side door. "Guys!" she said in a loud whisper. "You all get back up here and close this door!"

Just then, Jen sprouted her puppy ears and her puppy tail and her paws came on her feet and hands and she heard a small whimpering sound behind her. She turned around. Jack was still asleep, so it couldn't have been him. Then she heard it again. Jen looked down, then her eyes widened. Floating right in front of her feet was jack's ghost dog, Zero.

"Shoo!" Jen whispered, waving her paws at the dog. "Shoo…shoo!"

But of course, Zero paid no heed to Jen's words. Instead, he opened his mouth and clamped his teeth down on Jen's puppy tail.

"Oh dear, NOT MY TAIL AGAIN!" Jen yelled. Then she immediately clamped her hands over her mouth. Then she took a few steps backward…and fell over her heels into a tree. Luckily, Zero had let go of her tail.

As Jen fell, the Christmas door slammed shut behind her. But the sensation of falling through darkness wasn't why Jen was so freaked out. She was freaked out because right before she fell, she saw jack standing up…

But before Jen could think of anything else, she hit the ground, face-first again. But this time it was different. This time, she landed on something soft. And cold. When she got up, she looked down and saw that the soft, cold thing she had landed in was snow.

"What on earth?" she thought. Then she saw the others. The gang were standing a few feet away, with their backs turned to Jen.

Jen quickly walked up to see what was wrong with his friends. When she got closer, she saw that the gang's eyes were as wide as dinner plates, and their mouths were hanging wide open. But when Jen saw what her friends were looking at, she adopted the same expression her friends had.

The sight below the gang was incredible. They were on top of a hill, and at the bottom, there was a little town. The town was brightly lit with Christmas lights, and there were red and white stripes everywhere.

All eleven of them had a grin on their face. They looked at each other for a few seconds, then they all ran down the hill at top speed toward the town. When they got to the town, they separated and began running all over the place, just taking in all of the sights. Soon, the gang got excited. But what they didn't know was that they could hear a certain skeleton singing…

Jack:** what's this? What's this?**

**There's color everywhere**

**What's this? **

**There's white things in the air**

**What's this?**

**I can't believe my eyes**

I must be dreaming 

**Wake up, jack, this isn't fair**

**What's this?**

What's this? What's this? 

**There's something very wrong**

**What's this?**

**There's people singing songs**

**What's this?**

**The streets are lined with**

**Little creatures laughing**

**Everybody seems so happy**

**Have I possibly gone daffy?**

**What is this?**

**What's this?**

**There's children throwing snowballs**

**Instead of throwing heads**

**They're busy building toys**

**And absolutely no one's dead**

There's frost in every window 

**Oh, I can't believe my eyes**

And in my bones I feel the warmth 

**That's coming from inside**

Oh, look! What's this? 

**They're hanging mistletoe**

**They kiss? **

**Why, that looks so unique inspired!**

**They're gathering around to hear a story**

**Roasting chestnuts on a fire**

**What's this?**

**What's this?**

**In here they've got a little tree**

**How queer**

**And who would ever think?**

**And why?**

**They're covering it with tiny little things**

**They've got electric lights on strings**

**And there's a smile on everyone**

**So, now, correct me if I'm wrong**

**This looks like fun**

**This looks like fun**

**Oh, could it be I got my wish? **

**What's this?**

**Oh my, what now?**

**The children are asleep**

**But look, there's nothing underneath**

**No ghouls, no witches here to scream or scare them**

**Or ensnare them, only little cozy things**

**Secure inside their dreamland**

**What's this?**

**The monsters are all missing**

**And the nightmares can't be found**

**And in their place there seems to be**

**Good feeling all around**

**Instead of screams, I swear **

**I can hear music in the air**

**The smell of cakes and pies**

**Are absolutely everywhere**

**The sights, the sounds**

**They're everywhere and all around**

**I've never felt so good before**

**This empty place inside of me is filling up**

**I simply cannot get enough**

**I want it, oh, I want it**

**Oh, I want it for my own**

**I've got to know, I've got to know**

**What is this place that I have found?**

**What is this?**

---

Now, it was either pure bliss or pure ignorance, but for some reason, none of the gang seemed to notice the eight-foot skeleton who was also running around this new place, even when one of them would run right next to him. It was the same story for jack. He was so giddy that he didn't see the eleven teenagers running around. He just had to know what this place was called.

Meanwhile, the gang caught up with each other again, and they were gasping for air.

"This place rocks!" jonesy exclaimed between deep breaths.

"I agree," said Sam. "I know the name of this town we've found! Uh, jonesy?"

"What?" asked jonesy.

"Where's jimmy and Caitlin?" asked Wyatt.

The friends looked around. Jimmy and Caitlin were nowhere to be seen.

"Oh, for crying out loud!" said jonesy. He got up and ran to the entrance of the town, the others followed him.

"Jimmy Caitlin!" called Jen.

"Hey, monobrows!" called jonesy.

But somehow, jimmy and Caitlin had just vanished.

"Oh, this is not good," said Sam. "Who knows what kind of mischief jimmy and Caitlin could cause here by themselves? Hmm?"

"What?" asked jonesy. Then he looked up. At the entrance of the town, a big banner was hung overhead.

" 'Christmas town'?" jonesy read. "Hold up. You mean this town is all Christmas?"

"Well, that certainly explains a lot," said Sam. "But right now we have to concentrate on the situation at hand. Where's jimmy and Caitlin?"

"Oh, how should I know?" asked jonesy. "For all we know, they're off looking for Santa, wanting to find out how to be honorary elves!"

But as jonesy talked, jack's eyes spotted Jen's puppy tail. "What's this?" he said, walking behind Jen without making a sound this made jack touch her tail and this made Jen's puppy ears point up and she made a squeak sound then her puppy ears pointed down and she sigh in relief.

The gang turned around to take a good look at Christmas town…but instead, their eyes met black and white stripes. Now the gang stopped dead on their tracks. He they knew where they had seen black and white stripes like that before.

"Greetings, fellow creatures!"

jonesy let out a gasp and jumped in the air, toppling over backwards into the snow. But he quickly sat up again.

"DON'T SNEAK UP ON PEOPLE LIKE THAT!" he yelled, "And touching peoples tails." Added Jen as she was petting her tail.

"Um…actually, I have to. It's my job," said the all-too familiar skeleton standing in front of the gang. "Oh, forgive me! I haven't even introduced myself. I'm…"

"We know," interrupted jonesy, brushing the snow off his shirt. "Jack skellington. The pumpkin king."

"Wow, I'm famous!" said jack. He paused and watched as jonesy stood up.

"What?" asked jonesy.

"Aren't you going to tell me your names?" asked jack.

"Oh right," said jonesy. "I'm jonesy Garcia, and the girl next to me is Jen masterson and the punk lesbian girl right there is Nikki Wong and right here is Jude lizowski oh and that's Wyatt Williams and the boy with the glasses is Sam oh and that's Fred and that's Joe and this girl right here is Samantha." As jonesy introduced the others Sam gave a nervous little wave. "Say, you haven't seen a boy with blond hair with one eyebrow and you also haven't seen a girl with blond hair with a butterfly hair clipping and with cat ears and a tail running around, have you?" jonesy added.

"Uh…no. I think I'd remember something like that," said jack.

"Damn," grumbled jonesy. "Those idiot's are gonna be the death of us."

"Anyway, I was wondering if you all could help me," said jack. "What is the significance of all these strange rituals in this town? I've never seen such wonders!"

jonesy stared at jack for a few minutes. "What's the matter, buddy?" he asked. "Haven't you ever heard of Christmas?"

"Christmas?" repeated jack. "What is this thing, 'Christmas'?"

jonesy said nothing. Instead, he slowly held his arms out in front of him and formed the shape of a cross with his fingers, then pointed it at jack.

"Oh, that's real mature, jonesy," said Sam, speaking for the first time. Then he turned his direction to jack. "Dear jack, surely you've heard of the holiday Christmas?"

"Holiday?" asked jack. "You mean there are other holidays besides Halloween?"

Now even Sam was a little shocked. Jack didn't know about any of the other holidays? But as he thought about it, it began to make sense. Jack's main focus of Halloween. Of course he wasn't going to know about any other holidays.

"Well, jack…gosh, how can I explain this?" said Sam. "Well…Christmas is a time of year where we give thanks to others and give presents as an act of kindness to others."

"Ah, I say it's a big waste of time," said jonesy. "Christmas stinks."

Now it was jack's turn to be shocked. "How can you say that?" he asked jonesy. "This is exactly what I've been missing! I must find a way to bring Christmas to Halloween."

"Christmas to Halloween?" asked Sam. "That's sounds something jimmy would say. Which reminds me…jimmy and Caitlin are still missing."

"Oh, right," said jonesy. "Well, we can't seem to find him here. Maybe they're already at scary-Ville."

"Scary-Ville?" asked jack. "There's no such place."

"Oh yeah?' asked jonesy. "Then what do you call this?" he reached into Sam's pocket and took out the map, then showed it to the pumpkin king.

Jack took the map and got a good look at it. "There's no such place as scary-Ville," he repeated, handing the map back to jonesy. "This is a map of Halloween town."

"Halloween town?" asked jonesy.

"Is that where you live, jack?" asked Sam.

"It sure is," said jack. "But where did you all get a map of Halloween town?"

"Ah, it's no big deal," said jonesy. "It's just my brother's old map. Anyway, you all do whatever you want. I'm going back to scary-Ville."

"Halloween town," corrected Sam.

"Whatever,' said jonesy.

"Wait, jonesy!" said jack. "You all seem to be quite the experts on Christmas."

"Well, I don't like to brag," said jonesy. "But.."

"Hmm…" said jack. He looked at the gang. "Guys…how would you all like to help me with a little…project I'm planning?"


	5. Chapter 5 town meeting song

"You know, we just left, but I already miss Christmas town," jack was saying to the gang.

"Why?" asked jonesy. "You're bringing most of it back with you."

Jack had the gang help him go around Christmas town, filling a huge sack with things to take back to Halloween town. However, when they were done collecting things, they realized that the sack was too heavy for them to carry. So jack had resorted to tying the sack to the back of a nearby snowmobile.

Now they were riding back home, with jack driving (even though the snowmobile was too small for him, so his knees were up by his head), the gang riding on top of the sack, and zero floating close by.

"I still can't believe we couldn't find jimmy and Caitlin," said jonesy.

"I told you to look for them while we were collecting things," said Jen.

"No, you didn't!" said jonesy. "First, I said, 'There is no way we're helping jack go around and collect things to bring back to Halloween town,' then he came up right behind us and shrieked, then you started crying and whimpering like a dog, and then I said, 'Okay, fine! But then we need to look for jimmy and Caitlin.' And now we're here, still without a jimmy and Caitlin!"

"I wasn't crying and whimpering like a puppy!" protested Jen.

"Well, you were gonna because I saw your dog ears come out of your head and I saw your dog tail come out of your butt and I saw paws come on your hands and feet,"

"Um, I hate to interrupt this very interesting conversation, but we're almost to Halloween town," said jack.

"Oh. Right," said Jen.

"Fine," said jonesy.

---

Apparently, the townspeople weren't used to jack disappearing for a long period of time, because as soon as they drove in, a crowed gathered, asking if jack was all right and where he had been.

"Where were you?" asked the mayor. Then he saw the gang atop the huge sack. "And who are those guys?" he added, pointing to them.

"Call a town meeting and I'll tell everyone about it," said jack.

"When?" asked the mayor.

"Immediately!" said jack.

---

Later that night, all of the townspeople were gathering at the town hall. The gang were already there. There was a stage at the front of the town hall, and the curtains were closed. The gang were backstage with a small Christmas tree they had taken from Christmas town. Jack had instructed them to sit on stools and hold their props until he needed them.

"This is fucking stupid," said jonesy, holding a big red stocking. "We should be looking for jimmy and Caitlin."

"Oh come now, jonesy," said Sam, who was holding a present. "Jack said this wouldn't take long. We'll have plenty of time to look for jimmy and Caitlin after the meeting is over."

"Yeah, well I don't like this one bit," said jonesy. "Jack's got something much bigger in mind. I can tell…"

"Oh jonesy," said sam. "What could possibly go wrong?"

"Yeah what could go wrong?" Asked Jen, wagging her puppy tail.

At that moment, jack stepped out from behind the curtain to address the crowd.

"Listen everyone," the gang heard him say. "I want to tell you about Christmas town." Then the tone of jack's voice changed. Jonesy could definitely tell what was coming…

Jack:** there were objects so peculiar**

**They were not to be believed**

**All around, things to tantalize my brain**

**It's a world unlike anything I've ever seen**

**And as hard as I try**

**I can't seem to describe**

**Like a most improbable dream**

But you must believe when I tell you this 

**It's as real as my skull and it does exist here, let me show you **

Then, without warning, jack pulled the curtain back, exposing the gang, and the Christmas tree to the awestruck crowd. The gang had to shield their eyes from the sudden bright light.

"Corneas…" Sam whispered. He was so busy keeping his hands in front of his eyes that he almost didn't notice jack taking the present from his lap

Jack:** this is a thing called a present**

**The whole thing starts with a box**

Devil:** a box?**

**Is it steel?**

Werewolf:** are those locks?**

Harlequin demon:** is it filled with a pox?**

Devil, werewolf, harlequin demon:** a pox**

**How delightful, a pox**

Jonesy held in snickers. Deep in the back of his mind, he figured something like this might happen.

Jack:** if you please just a box with bright-colored paper**

**And the whole thing's topped with a bow**

Witches:** a bow?**

**But why?**

**How ugly**

**What's in it?**

**What's in it?**

Sam:** that's the point of the thing, not to know**

Clown:** it's a bat**

**Will it break?**

Creature under the stairs:** it's a rat**

**Will it break?**

Undersea Gal: **perhaps it's the head that I found in the lake**

Jack:** listen now, you don't understand**

**That's not the point of Christmas-land**

"I'll say it isn't," thought jonesy. Now he was forcing a very loud laughter from escaping his throat. He knew he still had to find jimmy and Caitlin, and now wasn't the time to be making fun of jack, but the look on jack's face was priceless! He looked so funny when he was confused! But jonesy immediately forced a straight face when jack gestured to him. He quickly handed his stocking to the pumpkin king, then went back to suppressing his laughter.

---

Jack:** Now, pay attention**

**We pick up an oversized sock**

**And hang it like this on the wall**

Mr. Hyde:** oh, yes! Does it still have a foot?**

Medium Mr. Hyde: **let me see, let me look**

Small Mr. Hyde:** is it rotted and covered with gook?**

Jack: **Um, let jonesy explain**

Jonesy froze. He had been caught off-guard. Had he heard jack right? He felt the red go right to his cheeks as his mind raced.

Jonesy:** uh…there's no foot inside, but there's candy**

**Or sometimes it's filled with small toys**

Mummy, winged demon:** small toys**

Winged demon:** do they bite?**

Mummy:** do they snap?**

Winged demon:** or explode in a sack?**

Corpse kid:** or perhaps they just spring out**

**And scare boys and girls**

Mayor: **what a splendid idea**

**This Christmas sounds fun**

**I fully endorse it**

**Let's try it at once**

Jack looked at the crowd, and then glanced at the gang. Sam gave a polite smile, while jonesy just shrugged, Jen whimpered like a real puppy. Jack turned his attention back to the crowd.

Jack:** everyone, please now, not so fast**

**There's something here that you don't quite grasp**

**Well, I may as well give them what they want**

**And the best, I must confess, I have saved for the last**

**For the ruler of this Christmas-land**

**Is a fearsome king with a deep mighty voice**

**Least that's what I've come to understand**

**And I've also heard it told**

**That he's something to behold**

**Like a lobster, huge and red**

**When he sets out to slay with his rain gear on **

**Carting bulging sacks with his big great arms**

**That is, so I've heard it said**

As jonesy listened to jack's description of the ruler of Christmas town, the red went to his cheeks again, but for a different reason this time. Jack was so engrossed with the crowd that he didn't even notice jonesy getting up from his seat and walking over to his Christmas tree…

Jack:** And on a dark cold night**

**Under full moonlight**

**He flies into a fog**

**Like a vulture in the sky**

**And they call him…sandy claws**

This really got the crowd going. They began to talk amongst themselves, saying how fun Christmas sounded and how much they wanted to try it. But even so, there was still one person in the room who was unhappy…

Jack:** Well, at least they're excited**

**But they don't understand**

**That special kind of feeling in Christmas-land**

**Oh, well…**

That was when jack turned to talk to the gang, only to find that they were no longer in their seats. He quickly looked around the room, but his helpers were nowhere to be found. Upon closer inspection, jack also discovered that all of the little glass Christmas balls were missing from his Christmas tree…


End file.
